Concurrently, Northwind is installing its Maestro Sales & Catering module at a record seven companies, including: a top ranking Fortune 500 U.S.  corporation, a Canadian meeting facilitator, a restaurant group operating four five-star eateries in Toronto; and four North American lodging properties, spanning the gamut of key vertical markets with varying operational needs.

"When all seven of these projects are completed, they will significantly complement the diversity of our current Maestro Sales & Catering software solution install base," said John Dowsett, Northwind's Director of Sales.

"Just as impressive, five of these new clients have chosen to couple our Sales & Catering module with our Maestro PMS, creating an enterprise solutions platform with a single client database that reaps significant integration efficiencies and additional functionality.

"Existing Maestro PMS clients and new Northwind customers are realizing firsthand the expanded capabilities and cost-effectiveness of our bundled operating software solutions," Dowsett said.  "More and more are finding that our dynamic software duo delivers unparalleled functionality, as well as the flexibility to deploy true thin-client ASP enterprise solutions."

Dowsett said the seven new Maestro Sales & Catering clients concurrently receiving installs include:
 

Dowsett said one of the drivers in the Northwind's string of Maestro Sales & Catering installation successes is the fact that the leading competitor in the marketplace, and many others, are requiring clients to invest tens of thousands of dollars per location to move from DOS to a Windows-based solution. In addition, Northwind charges fees based on the number of user seats, not rooms, which helps smaller, independent limited-service properties curb costs. Dennis Barquinero, Director of Lodging for Roaring L.L.C., which owns and operates the Red Lion Inn and The Porches - An Inn at Mass MOCA, concurred.

"Other software packages we looked at cost up to $25,000 more than the Maestro PMS/Maestro Sales & Catering bundled solution, and most were inferior products in terms of functionality, flexibility and integration," Barquinero said. "Northwind's Maestro Sales & Catering and Maestro PMS solutions can be very powerful, cost-effective stand-alone solutions.  However, the real return on investment lies in combining the two. The integration features of this software duo simply cannot be matched in the marketplace."

Dowsett said Northwind's Maestro Sales & Catering and Maestro PMS solutions leverage the expertise of former hoteliers, restauranteurs and corporate meeting planners to anticipate and meet clients' needs, as well as continuously evolve with each marketplace and each client.

"We understand what each software suite needs to do alone for each client, as well as together as part of larger operating solutions," Dowsett said.

"At Northwind, we listen closely to end users to develop truly customer-driven solutions - and our efforts are rewarded time and again."

Northwind Solutions Consultant Mark Kelly, who is assisting in the seven concurrent Maestro Sales & Catering installations, said the company's up-front investment in software development also continues to pay clients big dividends in ease of use, flexibility, functionality and integration.

"The entire suite of Maestro solutions was built by people who know well the unique needs of each of these key vertical businesses - be they hotels, restaurants or corporate locations," Kelly said. "Anyone can make
stand-alone software.  The real trick is developing a suite of solutions such as our highly integrated Maestro solutions, which fit together in true hand-in-glove fashion.

"Maestro Sales & Catering and Maestro PMS help operators save significant time and money, as well as cultivate all existing and emerging business opportunities," he said.  "What really differentiates Northwind and Maestro is that we don't just sell software.  We customize, deliver and fully support complete true solutions that are uniquely flexible and functional and offer significant integration efficiencies. We cater to clients' needs and our growing sales show it."

Markham, Ontario-based Northwind, Inc., is a leading global supplier of software and eCommerce solutions that satisfy the requirements of virtually any size hotel, resort, meeting/conference center or multi-property corporate headquarters.  In addition to providing complete true integration with Forsys' SilverWare suite of POS tools, Northwind's Maestro, Maestro Enterprise and ResEze products provide complete Web-enabled suites of PMS, Sales & Catering, Web Reservations and Corporate Solutions.  Northwind's Enterprise Solutions span the gamut, helping hotels optimize core operations in areas such as the front desk, accounts receivable, sales and catering, global on- and off-line reservations, club/spa and tee-time management, centralized operations, yield management, corporate booking facilities, point-of-sale systems, work order maintenance and back-office accounting, among others.

(c)Copyright 2001 Northwind, Inc. All rights reserved. Maestro and Maestro Enterprise are trademarks of Northwind, Inc. Additional company and product names may be registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.